Why IFEX members are shining a light on the World Cup hosts:Protests that started in early 2013 against transport fee hikes in Rio de Janeiro quickly snowballed into a nationwide movement against the exorbitant costs of hosting the World Cup

Protesters and journalists have been violently suppressed. Between May 2013 and May 2014, there were at least 171 cases of violations against media professionals covering street protests

Four journalists have been killed in Brazil so far this year and none of the cases have been solved

Brazil faces considerable challenges in ensuring it can deliver on the promise of the new Marco Civil law that could make the country a leader in Internet freedom

Read on to find out what else IFEX members are saying and doing about free expression and the World Cup:

Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI) – Just in time for the World Cup, ABRAJI has developed a security guide for reporters with tips and anecdotes from professionals who were attacked, assaulted or arrested during recent protests in Brazil.

ARTICLE 19 – The countdown to the 2014 World Cup has been marked by hundreds of thousands of Brazilians protesting against government corruption, unaccountable decision-making and the vast expenditure used to host the games, money which they believe would be better spent on public services. The state's response to these demonstrations has been one of increasing repression and violence, more suited to Brazil's years of military dictatorship.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression – While censorship and outdated Internet laws threaten journalistic integrity in Brazil, impunity remains one of the biggest concerns for journalists operating in the country. Although charges were laid in three cases of murdered journalists in 2013, many more have gone without justice.

Index on Censorship – In light of the crackdown on online journalists and bloggers covering the protests, considerable hopes are being placed on the new Marco Civil law, a progressive legal framework for Internet rights and online freedom of expression. The bill was signed into law on 23 April 2014, making Brazil the largest country in the world to enshrine net neutrality in its legal code.

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers – With the government providing few concrete assurances, it has been down to journalists to ensure that they are able to cover the World Cup and its tumultuous backdrop without the threat of violence.

Committee to Protect Journalists - With presidential elections scheduled for October, the government is wary that violence and censorship have eroded human rights. Scrutiny from media industry groups and press freedom advocates, both domestic and international, has prompted the administration to take action.

Index on Censorship - Index has looked at the countries taking part in arguably the biggest show on earth, and put together its own group of death - the freedom of expression edition. It consists of Cameroon, Iran, Nigeria and Russia.

ARTICLE 19 - Deemed as a 'fanatical football nation', football is undoubtedly an imbedded part of Iranian culture. A game where the people's and the government's connection with it is more complex than a player-spectator relationship.

The Iranian women's national football team is pictured on 3 June 2011. Photo credit: REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

Reporters Without Borders - Reporters Without Borders is using the FIFA World Cup in Brazil as the basis for a campaign to inform the public about respect for freedom of information in the participating countries.

More from Brazil

In September, the government eliminated the board of trustees of the public Brazilian Communications Company (EBC), which manages Brazil’s public radio and television stations as well as a news agency; the board was intended to ensure the body’s independence. Additional changes allow for the president to appoint and dismiss its top executive.

Although invalidated through a unanimous repeal by the Egyptian Parliament in 1928, the Assembly Law continues to be unlawfully exploited in tandem with the notorious Protest Law, passed in November 2013.

During the year, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta curtailed the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly through repressive laws such the Referendum Act, the Computer Crime Act, and article 116 of the penal code on sedition, as well as NCPO orders censoring media and preventing public gatherings of more than five people.

The murder of popular political commentator Kem Ley, who had voiced many criticisms of the government, on 10 July 2016, remains unanswered. Authorities systematically denied Cambodians their right to peaceful assembly by suppressing protests and issuing a series of ad hoc bans on non-violent gatherings and processions.

Restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly persist, amid the government's failure to contend with the range of rights-abusing laws that have been long used to criminalize free speech and prosecute dissidents.As part of the military's "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State, where thousands of Rohingya Muslims face rampant and systemic human rights violations, the authorities denied independent journalists access to the region since early October.

Events at recent demonstrations and protests indicate that the fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly in the Kingdom of Cambodia are facing ever-greater interference and restriction at the hands of local and national authorities.

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

The government uses draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law, and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws are vaguely worded, overly broad, and prone to misuse, and have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics at the national and state level.

In recent years, the space afforded to civil society to operate freely has been shrinking dramatically across the world, presenting a serious threat to democracy and human rights. Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) have been especially badly affected by this shrinking political space.

The first months of 2014 saw a continuation of the political unrest that rocked the capital city of Phnom Penh in the months following the disputed July 2013 national elections. Political protests continued throughout the city in 2014 as the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) boycotted its National Assembly seats over alleged widespread irregularities in the previous year’s election, which maintained control of the legislative body under the Cambodian People’s Party, and its long-ruling leader Prime Minister Hun Sen, who in 2014 marked 30 years as head of state.

This 140-page report documents lax government enforcement of labor laws and brand actions that hinder monitoring and compliance. In recent years, wage protests, instances of garment workers fainting, and burdensome union registration procedures have spotlighted the plight of workers in Cambodia’s garment factories.

This report documents 45 cases from Caracas and three states, involving more than 150 victims, in which security forces have abused the rights of protesters and other people in the vicinity of demonstrations.

The 100-page report shows that Tibetan refugee communities in Nepal are now facing a de facto ban on political protests, sharp restrictions on public activities promoting Tibetan culture and religion, and routine abuses by Nepali security forces.

The Turkish authorities severely restricted the right to freedom of expression of journalists and writers during and after the Gezi Park protests in 2013, English PEN and PEN International said in their joint report.

This factsheet provides an overview of the recent rubbish collectors’ protests and subsequent negotiations with garbage collection company CINTRI. The strike for an increased minimum wage and improved working conditions went ahead in spite of the current ban on all demonstrations, assemblies and marches, and remained peaceful, despite heavy military police presence

This Briefing Note addresses the increasing practice of forcing human rights defenders, protesters and everyday citizens to sign written statements agreeing to not partake in future demonstrations or illegal activities, as a condition of their release or to avoid charges

Charges against dozens of protesters in connection with the protest on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s 2012 inauguration are "inappropriate" and "disproportionate," according to a panel of independent experts. Twenty seven people are facing "mass rioting" charges in connection with the protest on May 6, 2012.

There is some skepticism about how much influence Burma's youth movement can assert in terms of political change. Still, activists have benefited from greater access to the Internet, which has brought a new side to the online community after decades of heavy censorship

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